Quoth The Raven
by X-Safaia-X
Summary: A routine drop off over Wutai goes sour when a mystery group downs Reno's helicopter and takes him and Rude hostage. No one knows what they want, at least not at first. They torture Reno before announcing that they want all the files that Shin-Ra has on the Project Raven that was used by Fuhito in exchange for the Turk's life. Warning: Dark, graphic torture, gore, possible rape.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome to another story by me. I normally write two stories at once simply to keep myself from blasting too quickly through one story before people have even had a chance to gather what's going on. So from now on I will be rotating chapters, one on this one, one on the other until one is complete or something big comes my way on one story.**

**With this particular story there will be a lot of Reno and Rude moments and to be honest, I have been debating whether or not to have them as a couple or just really close friends. So why don't you let me know what you think readers. Leave a vote in the review because I am okay writing it either way, have it worked it out in my head.**

**With that said, the warnings are as stated in the summary. Graphic torture scenes, gore, possible rape. I always place possible rape in stories that deal with torture because it may just come around that way. So any who, enjoy the story!**

Quoth the Raven

_**-"In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore."**_**-**

**Chapter One**

His lean body lounged out in the pilot seat of the helicopter, head hanging backwards. It jostled softly with every sway of the large bird, which didn't seem to bother him in the least. His features were already pinched in frustration as the toe of one thick boot tapped against the metal floor of the large chopper. A hand slipped away from the controls and fell into his lap and he was rewarded with a short but annoyed grunt from the seat beside him and a first bit of humor showed on his thin features.

"Damn it, Reno, will you pay attention when you're flying." A voice spoke gruffly from beside him. "I really do not feel like dying on such a simple mission."

Reno rolled his eyes behind his green tinted goggles, lips tugging up at the corners in an amused smirk. Even with the angry order beside him, the flaming haired Turk made no move to grab the controls and bring the helicopter back fully under his power. Instead he heaved an exaggerated sigh and hooked a thumb under the band of his eye wear, shoving them back up on his forehead.

"Take it easy, Rude." He cracked open blue-green eyes, head turning to observe his partner. The bald man sat stiffly in his own chair, trying to reach out for the controls. Smirk deepening, Reno shifted his weight to raise a leg higher, resting a thick, dirty boot on the flight panel and blocking Rude from the joystick. The bald man gave another annoyed grunt. Reno could only chuckle as he spoke again. "We're in the air, partner, what are you afraid of? We'll cross the yellow line and run into on coming traffic?"

The red head cackled at his own joke, lazily reaching for the controls again. He looped one finger around the black stick, sending the helicopter into a sideways dip for a moment before falling back into an easy pattern. His thumb flipping up a small black lever on the side of the joystick, hitting a red button that laid inside. A light flashed on on the panel, red letters firing up to spell out the words _"Auto Pilot On"_. Reno flopped back into the chair, assuming his lazy position once more.

"There, happy now?" He muttered, hands unconsciously moving to pat the pockets of his jacket, trying to search out a pack of cigarettes. It was only then that he remembered that Rude had confiscated them at the start of the flight with the strict demand that there would be no smoking in the chopper. So instead he had to settled for the horridly mint flavored toothpick in his pocket. He yanked it out and tore it from the plastic wrap in one aggressive motion before shoving the wood between his lips, chomping down on it.

"Is this pay back for confiscating your cigarettes?" Rude muttered, seemingly more at ease now that the helicopter was safely being piloted by the inner computer. Not that anyone other then Reno would have been able to tell that the large bald man had been unruffled in the first place. Reno was the only one that could tell the subtle changes in the man's emotional state.

"Nah, this mission just sucks." The red head muttered, eyes slipping closed. He chewed angrily on the end of the toothpick, finding it frustratingly unsatisfying. "We're on a stupid delivery mission. We've been flying for five hours, and we still have six more ahead of us. My ass went numb three hours ago, I've been craving a smoke for four hours, and I'm so bored my brain is starting to go as numb as my left ass cheek. Wait no...my right one. I'm pretty sure the left one fell off a few hours back."

Rude snorted, the sound so close to a laugh that it left Reno scowling. He had not been trying to amuse his partner with the rant. It had been honest annoyance over the situation they faced. Since the fall of the first branch of Avalanche and the rise of the second branch along with the defection by Sephiroth and the world nearly ending a second time, Shin-Ra really did not have much going on that could keep the red head's attention for longer then ten minutes. Paper work and side missions of checking up on damage done to the one time hub of life, Midgar. Now there was only Edge, and to say that Turks were not liked in Edge was an understatement. Often times Reno was chased out with things flying at his head. It seemed that Turks were the only Shin-Ra employees that were not worth forgiving.

Shin-Ra work still moved on though, as Rufus sat within his wheel chair and spoke of repaying the Planet, of righting all the wrongs that he had caused. He did his best to paint himself the remorseful business man that was now willing to spend the mountains of money he made off destroying the Planet to fix it. Most were buying into his velvet words and well spoken promises, but they still refused to forgive the Turks for being the ones that had to act out the original crimes. The world needed a scapegoat, and since they weren't willing to make it the person that had the money to fix things, it fell to the black suits.

So Rufus had done his best to keep the Turks out of the line of direct fire. Only four of them remained, and he was not willing to risk loosing any of them as he would have no one to replace them with. It was how Reno and Rude had gotten this horrendously boring mission. The orders had been simple enough. Pick up a box from the remaining Medical labs in Edge and fly it out to Wutai's facilities. As much as he loved flying, the idea of playing courier annoyed Reno and he'd begged Tseng to send anyone else on this errand. Unfortunately that could not be the case. Reno was the only top flier left in the Turks, and Tseng would be needed back at head quarters. Which meant Elena, lucky little she-devil that she was, was free from the mission by default. Turks remained with their partners at all times unless in the case of medical forced leave.

"You know, one time I killed a man with a fucking bottle cap and now they've got me flying fucking aspirin." He muttered again, kicking at the flight panel and firing a glare over his shoulder at the silver box strapped into the bench seat in the back of the chopper.

This time his partner did laugh, earning him another vicious scowl from the nicotine deprived red head.

"I don't think a target slipping on a cap you accidentally dropped when he punched you in the face and then falling out a window counts as a kill in your favor." The bald man smirked, adjusting his weight in the chair. Even Rude had to admit that this mission was tedious and that the seats in this particular chopper were not made to be comfortable for long trips.

"Was he my target? Did he end up dead? Then yea, it counts." It was obvious that Reno was getting irritated and Rude figured he had about one more full hour before the man would be impossible. He had to do something to save his own sanity on the flight.

Rude began to open his mouth to say something, to make some sort of offer, when it happened. An odd feeling washed over him, like a chill rushing through his body. His stomach somersaulted, heart almost seeming to stop for a moment in his chest. He jerked in discomfort, shooting a glance to see if his partner had felt it too.

Reno was now sitting up stiffly in his chair, goggles on a slight angle on his forehead. His turquoise eyes were wide in shock, a hand pressing firmly against his stomach. Mouth hanging open slightly his own gaze turned in the direction of his partner's.

"Rude...what the fuck was-"

His question was cut off, ironically by his answer. There was a short buzz from the flight panel followed by a sparking flash. Then there was nothing. No alarms went off, no warnings screamed through the cockpit, all the lights just went out. A sputtering sound shook the helicopter as the engine shut off, the spinning blades producing a dull stuttering as the quick rotation began to slow to nothing. Both Turks let out a grunt of shock as the tail blades cut out, sending the entire bird into a tail spin and throwing their bodies from their chairs.

Reno had been flying helicopters since he had first been recruited by the Turks, having shown an amazing finesse for the large metal birds. In all his time in the air he had had three copters go down on him, none of them in this manner. Because of that it took him a few seconds from his position sprawled on his back to snap into full pilot mode. Rude was no longer his partner, but now a passenger on his chopper that was going down. The red head launched himself up off the ground, grabbing the controls even though a part of him knew that it was pointless now. Sharp blue-green eyes turned to Rude.

"Get back there and get a chute on, now." He ordered, trying with no form of desperation to regain control of the helicopter. His fingers moved like lightening over the various switches, a curse slipping from tightly pressed lips. "You're going to have to manually open the door. I've got no power, and we've got no time. I can try getting the back up power supply functioning, but you're jumping now in case that doesn't work."

Rude blinked at the sudden change that over took Reno. One minute the man was nearly rolling around in frustrated boredom and the next he was more focused then the bald Turk could ever remember seeing him. There was none of his lazy approach or calm moves. It was so startling it took Rude a few moments to gather what the red head was demanding of him.

"What about you?" He snapped back, not making a move towards the back off the spinning chopper yet. Another vicious circle did the work for him though, throwing his large form off his feet and crashing to the metal floor behind the cockpit.

"Just get in the fucking parachute!" Reno barked, not once removing his fierce gaze from the controls in front of him. "I'm the trained fucking pilot here, Rude! I know what I'm doing! You jump and I get the back up working and swing around to pick you up. And if it doesn't work, I jump after you. Now get moving! It's easier to focus if I don't have to worry about your ass to!"

Rude frowned at the bite in Reno's words, but knew better then to question the man when he entered this mode of seriousness. Most people tended to write Reno off as a goof, and didn't take him seriously. Though if they were to see the man in these moments they would fully understand how he gained the rank of second in command. His eyes were serious, and his mind was one track. Save his team above all else. Most Turks knew that the mission came first, and he doubted that Reno was forgetting that. He would remain to regain control of the mission, but he would see to it that his partner got to safety.

He yanked the door to the helicopter open sharply, holding one arm up against the blast of cold air that rushed past him. Rude's own motions were swift and gave away his own Turk training. Faster then most could imagine, the bald man was strapped into a chute and standing before the open door. He could hardly hear the curses that were pouring from Reno's mouth past the screaming wind as he moved into position to jump. That was when he noticed something that stopped him cold.

"Reno, there's only one parachute!" He shouted out, starting to try and pull himself back into the descending helicopter.

"What?" The red head barked back, hardly able to hear his partner's words over all the noise that was suddenly filling the inside of the chopper.

"I said there's only one fucking chute!" Rude hollered back. "I'm not jumping and leaving you here to die!"

Reno heard him that time, a grin splitting across his face. He knew he had forgotten something before they left. There was no time to worry about that though. Flight school trained him in more then simply learning how to fly. He swiveled in his chair, seeing Rude struggling to try and pull himself more fully back inside the helicopter, fighting against the pressure pushing out and the force of the chopper's spins. Rude looked towards him, only for a second catching the almost sad look on the red head's face.

"Not giving you a choice partner!" He called back before grabbing the joy stick and jerking it to the side. The tail rudder was still under his control thanks to a simple pulley system, and as it changed position the helicopter shuddered violently before the tail end whipped around in the opposite direction. The precarious grip Rude had on the door frame gave way and the bald man's large frame was pitched back into the open air and to safety.

Reno's own form was thrown from the chair and he landed with a hard grunt against the passenger seat. A short hiss left him and knowing that later he'd sport a nice bruise across his chest from it. He did not have the time to stew on it, and he quickly scrambled to the control panel. The back up power button glared up, a large red beacon as he smashed his fist against it once and prayed for the sound of electricity humming back through the cockpit. There was nothing though, only a dull click.

"Fuck." He hissed out, slamming his fist down on it again and again, each time producing the same results as the first one. He had no idea how, but the entire helicopter's circuitry was completely fried. There was only one thing to do then.

Reno dove to the back of the chopper, cursing his Turk training and instinct as he began to unclasp the large silver box they had been delivering. A part of his senses screamed at him to forget about the damn thing and jump, but the fully trained part of him, the Turk second in command part, demanded that he worry about the completion of the mission. No matter what. His life was not above their objective. Getting the box free, he yanked it down and shoved it to the open door of the helicopter.

"I swear to Gaia, Tseng, if I die over some fucking baby aspirin I will haunt your ass till the day you die." He muttered and with a strong movement, kicked the package out into open air.

The helicopter gave a vicious jerk as the spinning changed direction again and hurled Reno against the far wall. A grunt left him as he slid down the side of the wall, waiting for his breath to come back. This was not going well, and it would only get worse. He had no parachute and the view from through the windows of the cockpit showed that he was quickly approaching a mountain range. He stumbled forward to the open door and looked down knowing all he could do now was wait until he was close enough that a jump would not kill him.

Reno's heart was hammering in his chest. He still did not quite understand what was going on, or what had happened. All he did know is if he did not time this right that this mundane, boring, _stupid_ mission would be his last. His knuckles almost went white as his grip tightened on the door frame to keep himself from tumbling out too soon. Blue-green eyes turned towards the cockpit again and the red head gave a start.

"Oh shit!" He barked out. The mountains were close, too close. It looked like he was out of time. He pitched forward without a second thought, and hurled his body out into open space. Freezing air rushed past him, seemingly swallowing his body up in its embrace. He let his muscles go limp, preparing his body to take the impact as he'd been trained to for long falls.

All training soon became pointless. The helicopter met the mountains behind him, the metal bird kissing the rocks with a screech of tearing metal. The grating sound soon have way to a booming explosion that rocketed out throughout the surrounding area. Reno was hardly aware of the sound as the heat blasted against his back, the shock waves crushing into his form. Metal chunks painted a dusty black race past him. He only had a few seconds to gather what was happening around him before a searing pain blasted throughout his body and hurled him forward into darkness.

**...x...S...a...f...a...i...a...x**

He looked like a child in a cheap Halloween costume, the parachute hanging over his body as he frantically scrambled to get out from under the covering fabric. His heart was hammering in his chest, rage boiling up in him. When this was over he was going to kill Reno for the dirty stunt. The little bastard. He could not believe that would do something like that, just dump him out of the helicopter with the only parachute.

Rude finally managed to grab a hold of the edge of the cloth, tearing it away from him with a loud grunt of aggravation. On second thought, he could believe it. This was just the sort of thing Reno would do. Act without thinking about his own safety. Damn Veld and Tseng for training the man so well, and damn Reno for caring more about others then himself. Hurling the parachute away from him and kicking at the billowing folds, Rude looked quite the sight. A large hulking wall of man in a ruffled but still nicely pressed suit kicking at a parachute as though having a temper tantrum in the middle of a snow field. Just what the fuck had happened anyway? He had felt something strange before the chopper had lost power, and he knew Reno had too. That could not have been normal.

His eyes darted in the direction he was pretty sure the helicopter had gone just in time to catch the large fireball of an explosion against the side of a mountain range. His hazel eyes went wide behind his crooked sunglasses. Even the wind snapping around him was not as cold as the feeling that crept through his insides.

"Oh Gaia..." He whispered, voice strained. There had not been another parachute on board, but he had to believe that Reno's flight training had prepared him for this. Either way he had to get over to the crash sight right away.

He fought himself out of the harness, tossing it to the ground as he began to search his pockets for his PHS. This malfunction had to be reported to Tseng as he was sure that the tracker in the helicopter had gone offline with the power failure and had head quarters in a frenzy. With all that had happened, funding was low and man power was lower. They would not be able to afford to replace helicopters nor replace any Turks. Whipping the small phone from his pocket, he flipped it open and looked at the screen before blinking slowly. It was blank, like the PHS had been turned off. Turks never turned their phones off. He hit the power button to check, and nothing. The entire phone was dead. Just like the helicopter.

That was when it hit Rude. The odd feeling, the chopper's odd loss of complete power, and his now dead phone. They had been hit by some sort of EMP that had fried all electronics in its path. Which means that it had been deliberate. He and Reno had been targeted. But over what? Some medical supplies they were suppose to be delivering to some small village in Wutai to help with a flu outbreak? It did not make sense, but it did not matter. He had to get to the crash site, had to find Reno, and they had to get the hell out of there before whoever had set off the EMP found them.

Just as he was about to start running, a very familiar sound reached his ears. The cocking of not one, but multiple guns. The large man froze, turning his head slightly to try and see what he was up against. Behind him was a line of at least six men, each dressed in black, military grade clothing. From where he stood, they looked oddly like SOLDIER uniforms, except all jet black. Each man held an automatic assault rifle.

"Hands up, no sudden movements or you will die where you stand." A voice called out from behind him.

Rude clenched his jaw, teeth grinding together. His arms raised slowly upwards as he held his position. None of this was making sense to him. What was this all about? Who were these people? All he wanted to do right now was rush forward, run full force towards the crash site and find Reno. Had he greeted a same sight upon touching ground? Had he even touched ground?

"Take it easy!" Rude called back over his shoulder, figuring this all had to be some kind of misunderstanding. "I am a Turk, working for Shin-Ra. We were simply trying to get some medical supplies to a village in Wutai when our helicopter malfunctioned and went down."

The snow crunched behind him as the men moved in closer. Rude felt his own body tense in response. Every instinct was telling him to turn on the men behind him and launch himself into a fight. He would never survive it though if they intended to make good on their threat and shoot him where he stood. Hopefully though it was all an misunderstanding and his words would have the situation diffused. His hopes were dashed as the first man reached him and shouldered his weapon, gripping one of Rude's arms and snapped a cuff around it.

"Hands behind your back." The man ordered. Rude snarled gently but complied. The other cuff snapped into place, locking his arms at the small of his back.

"Listen, this is all a misunderstanding." He tried to explain again as two men came up on his sides and gripped his arms, one placing the barrel of his gun against Rude's side. "I am a-"

"We know who you are." One man cut him off, walking up to stand in front of him, tilting his head to the side. The man was large, just as large as Rude, an evil smirk gracing his features. His hair was pure black, brushed back into a tight ponytail, quite similar to the way that Tseng had once worn his own. This gave Rude the idea that the man was of Wutai heritage himself. His eyes were dark, the same of ebony as his hair, making them seem almost soulless.

"If you know who we are, then what is this about?" Rude asked, eyes drifting over the man's shoulder in the direction of the smoke pluming up from the crash site. Worry was starting to eat at his insides knowing that each moment that he was detained by this ridiculous lot was a moment that could be costing Reno his life.

The man turned, following Rude's gaze to the distant fire. A low chuckle left him that had the bald man grinding his teeth together once more. The Turk had no idea who this man was, but he knew that he already despised him with every fiber of his being. His arms strained against the cuffs that held him in place, the men holding him feeling his muscles tighten.

"Easy now." The black haired man spoke, still grinning. "What do you say we go get your partner? I truly hate repeating myself so I'd rather wait until I have both of you in one place." He looked past Rude to the men behind him, raising one hand up in a waving gesture. "Bring the truck, we still have two packages to pick up."

His gaze moved back to Rude, that same horrid grin still on his face. The expression was starting to turn Rude's insides cold again. The only solace that he had was that they would at least take him to find Reno as the truck pulled forward. The men shoved him towards the back ignoring the growl that left the large bald man as he was forced into the covered bed. As the tailgate was slammed shut, Rude banged his head back against the canvas at least praying that Reno was all right.

**...x...S...a...f...a...i...a...x...**

The world was slow in returning, swimming through the warm fog like icy fingers. They gripped at his body, tugging against the tattered clothing and whipping his hair about him like a red curtain. He tried to shy away from it, the cold promising to bring pain, and because of that he simply wanted to remain in the warm bliss. Reality didn't feel up to granting him those wishes though as it continued to snag at him with freezing thorns and tug him towards the surface.

Reno nearly choked when he was back in his own body, a pain roaring through his head so sharply that it caused his stomach to roll viciously. A groan slipped past his lips as he refused to open his eyes yet, fearing it would only make the pain and the nausea worse. The ground beneath him was cold and wet, giving away the fact that he was laying in snow. Why the hell was he laying in snow? Why couldn't he remember what had happened or what was going on? He knew he would have to open his eyes to get any sort of answer for his muddled mind.

Mustering up all the courage he had to do this, Reno grunted deeply before his lids fluttered open over dazed turquoise orbs. The light that reflected off the snowy landscape nearly blinded him as well as left his head with the feeling that it was going to tear in two. His lids snapped down much closer then they had opened.

"Fuck..." He moaned out, trying to roll over onto his back. He immediately regretted the choice as a vicious pain went tearing through his body. Before he could stop it, a scream came tearing out of his mouth as his back curled up off the ground. With no better word to express what was going at the moment, Reno blurted out the same and best word to describe his current situation. "Fuck!"

The red head could only lay there for a few moments, panting and trying to get his breathing back under control. There was no more putting off opening his eyes and addressing whatever the hell was going on. With another deep and slow breath, Reno forced them open, groaning as the light burned into his brain once more and sent a white hot steak of pain through his skull. His stomach knotted and for a second his body jolted with a short heave. Reno had to fight back some of the bile rising up in his throat.

One hand went to the side of his head where the pain seemed to be the strongest. Something wet met his fingers and as he pulled his hand back he was greeted by the sight of blood. Blood? A head injury. That would explain the headache, the twisting stomach, and the state of confusion and inability to grasp what had happened or really any full thought. A concussion. Wonderful, but how did he get it?

Reno grunted as he tried to struggle up to his feet, or a sitting position if he could make it that far. But that same fiery bolt of pain reached him, racing up through his body with enough bite to draw another yelp from him. He turned his gaze down, panting heavily now. That was when he saw the second source of his pain. A thin scrap of metal was embedded deeply through his thigh, clearing it on both sides in a mangle of torn flesh and blood. The sight of the injury caused him to groan, pressing a hand against his stomach and saying a silent pray that it would stop churning.

Blue-green eyes started to scan the area, settling on a horrid sight about twenty feet away from him. What remained of his helicopter was little more then a husk flaming at the base of a mountain. His mouth fell open, words failing him as he tried to force his mind to work, to remember. What was going on? When had his chopper gone down? How had it gone down? He moaned low in his throat. Parts of it came back to him. They had been delivering a package to Wutai. Who was 'they'? Rude of course. Then where was Rude? He was not around here. Why not? Oh, that was right, he'd made him jump. He was safe. The mission though, what about the mission? The box, he kicked it out of the chopper before it went down.

Reno looked around the area, trying to see if he could locate the silver box. Right now with the concussion keeping him from being able to piece things together in a way that he normally could have, it defaulted to basic Turk training. Rolling onto his right side, he hissed out in pain as he kept his injured left leg off the ground. Propped up on his elbows, dizzy and a few good jolts away from being violently ill, Reno began to drag himself through the snow.

"Complete...the mission...at all...costs..." He rasped out, glazed eyes catching a glint of the sun reflecting off some surface in the distance. It had to be the box. He continued to drag himself forward. Blood leaked out on the snow behind him as he crawled a bit farther.

The going was slow, not that Reno was really aware of how long the simple task was taking him. Every few feet his mind seemed to repeat the dazed process, blinking in a slow bleary manner and taking in his surroundings. He was forced to remind himself all over again of the events that took place leading up to where he was now. His mind was like a scratched CD, playing the same few bars on repeat although he had no idea that it was. At one point he had even stopped to lay his head in the snow, hoping that it would dull the headache that was threatening to rip his skull in half.

Finally, his battered form reached its goal, the box sitting cracked open in a snow bank. Reno blinked slowly, taking in the fact that it had been opened. Four vials lay in the snow, glass shattered and whatever had been inside them having melted holes straight through the snow. He started to reach for one before gingerly pulling his hand back.

"Ooh...not aspirin." He muttered, wincing as his own voice was like nails on a chalkboard to his aching head. "Sorry boss man...failed the mission..."

With his destination reached and the idea that his mission was done though not completed, there was nothing left fueling the red head. His body went slack as he collapsed back into the snow. Every part of his body ached and the blood in his hair and on his pants was starting to freeze. It was a sudden reminder of how cold he actually was, his entire body beginning to tremble which only sent more pain rocketing through to every part of him. Another pain filled moan left him before he gratefully let himself fall into the warmth of the darkness again, letting the dream world chase away the icy pain that had become his reality. With any luck, this time he would not wake up.

**-And there you have the first chapter. I'd like to point out that I know next to nothing about the mechanics of a helicopter. Though I have seen many on the ground and seen the pilots able to maneuver the rudders even while they're not turned on. So I just assume that power is not required for that. **

**I hope you enjoy the first chapter! Please review and let me know what you think, and also let me know about your vote in the Reno x Rude relationship poll.**

**~Safaia~**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just a short chapter here to get a bit to the meat of the story. :D**

**On a side note, the Reno x Rude's have it. So it is likely that a relationship will be formed between the two that extends past their friendship/partnership. **

**That said, simply read and enjoy!**

Quoth the Raven

_**-"In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore."**_**-**

**Chapter Two**

Rude held his breath as the truck came to a stop, the scent of gasoline and smoke filling his senses. The chemicals that were being burned away by the flames of the crash burned at his eyes and he had to blink slowly to rid himself of the water that formed in his orbs. A soft crackling reached him, the sound of fire eating everything, metal, cloth, plastic, but hopefully not a body. A few of the men sitting in the back of the truck with him let out an annoyed grunt but still jumped out, presumably to help gather up his partner. The bald Turk was left in the back with only two other men with guns trained on him.

Rude had to hold back a snarl. He knew that he could have easily taken out both men, even while handcuffed. Both men seemed lazy in their guard duty, slouching over in their seats with a loose grip on their weapons. The Turk would have been able to rise and free them of the weapons before their hands could have even tightened and found triggers. The only thing that stopped him from doing such a thing was the idea that there were more men like this just outside the truck that possibly held Reno. Instead he only sat in a brooding silence, chewing on the inside of his lip to keep anyone else from seeing his level of stress.

Reno would have known though. The sneaky red head had always had a way of seeing right through to his internalized emotions. Others would think that he was fine, but Reno would somehow know he was struggling. Rude let his head fall back and rest against the canvas cover of the back of the truck as he tried to take in more of his surroundings rather then muse on the possible harm that had befallen his partner.

There was one thing that was for sure, this was a military grade vehicle, one he had not seen in use since the war in Wutai so many years ago. The soft fabric indicated that it was not bullet proof, given that it gave easily enough underneath his head's pressure against it. Which it meant it was not Shin-Ra grade. Shin-Ra's all trucks were now covered in Kevlar canvas. Whoever these people were, they had enough connections to get themselves military equipment, but not a good enough connection to get them the most update to date equipment. Still, it meant they were a well funded group and likely not some random rebel faction that had bubbled up out of the ground over night with some half laid plans. They were organized, they were decently armed, and they now had at least one Turk in their grasp. Two if Reno was lucky. Or unlucky, the bald man supposed it was all in how you looked at it. Getting out of this mess was going to be a little tricky.

Rude was pulled out of his thoughts as a stream of angry curses lifted on the howling wind outside the truck. The man cracked an eye open beneath his sunglasses and turned only an eye towards the bed of the truck as the back flap of canvas was ripped open. The ebony haired man from earlier looked inside, anger wafting off him in fumes so thick Rude was pretty sure one could suffocate if they got too close to him.

"Bring the Turk out here now!" He barked to the two men in the truck with him before disappearing again.

The men snapped to attention, and Rude arched a brow. He had to wonder for a moment what was going on that had the other man so worked up. For a moment her rewarded himself with the idea that they had found Reno, healthy and in one piece and that the red head was giving them all hell. His lips only twitched in the hint of a smile as the man allowed himself the image of Reno standing on top a snow drift, bitching about the cold while disarming this miniature army with only a handful of snowballs. It certainly was the type of thing that would be expected, and easily carried out, by the flamboyant Turk.

As he was dragged out of the men though, Rude was greeted with no such wonderful sight. Instead he only saw frame of their helicopter, the normally dull black now a few shades darker. Some spots were tinged in red were the frame had grown hot enough to begin to burn and metal the metal. Debris lay scattered about the area, chunks of metal and plastic, some smoldering, others half buried in the snow. Seeing it like this, it would be a miracle if anyone that had been on board at the time of impact had survived.

Rude could feel his heart plummet straight into his polished leather shoes. He had to believe that Reno had been smart enough to figure out a safe way to have gotten out before the crash. A quick intake of air through his nose seemed to confirm it as well. There was no scent of burning flesh, a scent that a Turk could easily pick out. There was no body with in the rubble heap that had once been a Shin-Ra helicopter. Which left only one question.

"Where is your partner?" The ebony haired man suddenly barked out in his voice, verbalizing Rude's inner thoughts. The Turk blinked slowly behind his shades as he turned his head towards the fuming man. For a brief moment he considered lying, telling them that he had been traveling alone, that the company did not see the need to send two Turks to drop off flu medication.

There was two reasons that he choose a different path. For one, Reno could be laying somewhere injured and leaving him to his own devices might be a death sentence to the red head. The other was that this group had seemingly been waiting for them, had laid a trap. This meant they had a good amount of information about this mission. A part of his mind was now tumbling over its self. His civilian brain was screaming to find Reno and run like hell. Yet his Turk brain was telling him to figure out as much as he could about this group before escaping. Rude mustered together his thoughts to finally turn his attention to the fuming man.

"I do not know." He spoke, tone flat and even. "As you know, I landed a good distance from the crash sight. I know about as much as you."

The man growled slow in his throat, bringing a hand up. Rude could tell by the clenched fist that the man was reading to punch him, and the Turk readied himself for the blow. It did not come though. Instead it seemed that Ebony's eyes had caught something else that was far more intriguing then handing down pain. This fact twisted up Rude's stomach as he turned his head to try and see what it was. His eyes landed on a heart stopping sight.

Lying in a small, red patch of snow was an all too familiar pair of goggled. The band that usually kept them fit snugly on Reno's forehead was torn, the edges of the band soaked a bright crimson. Rude wanted to fall to his knees, wanted to scream. Instead he did nothing, just stood there staring at the goggles numbly. That was until he noticed something else. Leading away from the abandoned eye wear was a faint beaten down path in the snow, a thin line of crimson seeming to form a stretching ribbon off over the snow drifts.

Rude did not care now if he took a bullet in the back. His body was moving on auto pilot as he turned and began to move in the direction of the path. He heard one of the men shout behind him, but he ignored it. He only continued forward, stumbling through the snow, grunting a few times when he staggered. Where the hell had Reno been going? The bald Turk had been shuffling through the snow for nearly twenty minutes until he finally saw something ahead of him that stood out against the stark white with frightening clarity. A shock of flaming red and mound of black fabric huddled in an unmoving heap in the snow.

"Reno!" He called out, starting to race forward only to be stopped by the multiple sets of hands that grabbed him from behind. They yanked him back as a few more men rushed past him to his downed partner.

The men showed no care as they gripped Reno by the arms, hoisting him up out of the snow. The Turk's head only rolled forward almost boneless like on his shoulders. Still Rude was able to catch a glimpse of the blood that caked the side of his partner's face from a shallow gash on the side of his head. Rude winced though he ignored the chilling sight of that one injury to gather more information on the state of injury done to the red head.

The front of his shirt was torn open slightly, exposing a thick welt that streaked across his chest. The skin puckered up in a pink tone, a few spots slit open and filling the tiny voids with a swell of blood. The entire thing was outlined in a dark black-purple bruise, so perfectly lined that it looked as though someone had colored around the welt with a marker. Rude was sure that there were other various bruises beneath the man's uniform that he would not be able to see until he was allowed free range to examine his partner. There was, however, one more injury that stood out with a sickening clarity. His left thigh had been pierced clean through by a thin piece of metal, likely debris from the exploding chopper. The bald man let out a hissing curse at the sight. How had Reno managed to get himself all the way out here from the crash site like that, and what for?

It was then Rude noticed the cracked silver box that was half buried in the snow near where his partner had collapsed. A string of curses rushed through his bald head as he realized that his partner had damn near risked his life to try and secure the package, their mission. While he knew Tseng would feel a sense of pride for his second in command over such a thing, Rude could only manage rage. How could Reno be so foolish as to risk himself over some flu medication? Was this not the same man that had once told Elena that only a foolish man sacrificed his life for his job?

What Rude did not know was that the wind had blown enough snow over the place to cover the broken remains of what had actually been in box. The empty box was not lost on Ebony though and an angry snarl left his lips. His hand darted out, slapping Reno sharply across the face and causing Rude's muscles to tense in reaction.

"Wake up you little shit." Ebony snarled in the red head's face.

Reno jolted, body rendering the shock of the slap but not the pain. His head rolled backwards with a low groan before those blue-green eyes fluttered open. He scanned the area slowly and Rude could seem the distant look in them. Another stream of curses filled his head as he realized that his partner was suffering from a concussion and was only half aware of what was going on around him.

"Where is the package?" Ebony barked out, the second slap showing that he had no patience.

Reno's head fell to one side, as it seemed he was not registering the pain of the slaps. He looked back around, blinking slowly as he observed the ebony haired man with confusion. His brows furrowed together before turning to glance around him. The dim orbs finally settled on Rude and the red head's lips curled up in a wide grin.

"Hey partner, Tseng's gonna kill me..." He murmured softly. "I dropped the aspirin."

In any other situation, Rude would have found high amounts of humor in his partner's words. But right now it only made him worry. It was obvious that Reno was blissfully unaware of the bad situation they had wound up in, or even of any of the pain that he would surely feel later. The beauty and curse of a concussion. His mind was too muddled to grasp the pain in his body, but also too muddled to grasp the danger they were in. The bald man could only offer Reno a slow shake of his head, which caused a frown to crease across his partner's face. It was then that Ebony swooped in, grabbing a fist full of Reno's hair and jerked his head back to force the injured Turk to look up at him.

"Where is the package?" He repeated slowly, voice dripping with venom. "I recommend you get yourself together and answer me, Turk."

Reno's eyes landed slowly on the man, face still pinched with confusion. It was then he realized that he did not know who this man in front of him was. Or really what had happened. He remembered the helicopter going down and then...then it was a muddled blank. His lids fell shut over his eyes as he tried to pull his thoughts together but each time he thought he had a grasp, it seemed to slip between his fingers like water. Frustration built in him over this so he started to cling to the few facts that he could remember, playing them over in his twisted mind like a song on repeat.

"I dropped the aspirin..." He muttered towards the stranger, figuring these were the people they were suppose to deliver the medication to. His head then rolled to the side, landing on Rude again. "Did the chopper crash, partner?"

Rude felt his lips twitch again, wanting to offer his friend a smile. He wanted to put the man's turbulent mind at ease. This was not the first time he had dealt with Reno having a concussion and he knew how the man would react to it all. At first he would act like a man that had drank too much, all smiles and repeating himself, and then he would become angry over the fact that he could not seem to get his brain working to his standards. Finally he would give up and pass out, waking up the next morning with a vicious headache and little memory of anything from the time of the head injury but back to his own normal brain functions. The only problem was with this situation they found themselves in, such odd mood swings could end badly for him.

"Yes, partner, the helicopter crashed." He called out, hoping to delay the angry portion of the injury. His efforts were rewarded by gun barrel shoved roughly against his back, causing him to grit his teeth.

"Oh...that's right..." Reno mused to himself, letting his eyes drift shut and his head sag forward again, seemingly having forgotten the man that had been shouting in his face. Without warning he started chuckling to himself, eyes opening once more to glance at the silver box behind him. "Tseng is gonna kill me..."

He didn't seem to have a chance to linger on that train of thought though. Ebony's hand snapped out again, gripping the metal rod that embedded deeply in the red head's thigh. Without so much of a warning, he twisted the object.

"Where is what was inside?" He snarled out in a low tone.

Rude could not stop the flinch that reached his face as the metal twisted. A tearing sound reached his ears, and his stomach lurched as he realized that it was the sound of Reno's flesh and muscle being jostled by moving metal. A fresh stream of blood bubbled up and began to soak the fabric of his pants. Reno's whole body jerked, a yelp of pain escaping his lips. Panting slowly, he turned confused eyes on Ebony, obviously still unaware of what was really going on.

"Fuck man..." He gasped out. "I dropped the shit. Tseng's already gonna kill me, I don't need your grief too!"

Rude flinched, realizing that Ebony's rough treatment was going to push Reno into the second stage of his injury, trying to force him to focus on something he was obviously having trouble remembering. Currently the red head was trying to glare at the man leaning over him, but his eyes were too glazed to fully pull off the look correctly.

"I don't have time for games, Turk." Ebony hissed, grip on the metal piece still firm. "Tell me where the contents of the package is!"

Reno's brows furrowed together as he tried to gather what the man was asking of him. His eyes turned back towards the open silver box as if just realizing that it was empty. What had been in the box? Reno knew he had seen it, he had to have seen it. He opened the box, hadn't he? No. No because he would remembered. So why couldn't he figure out what was going on? Frustration began to well up inside him, shifting and filtering into anger as he could only stare angrily at the box.

"I...I don't know..." He mumbled out in an tight voice, gaze turning back to Ebony and then drifting over to Rude. "Wh...what's going on partner?"

Rude knew it was finally beginning to dawn on Reno that they were in trouble here, and that it was starting to scare the red head because he could not figure out what had happened during the last hour of his life before ending up here. All he knew was one moment he was dumping Rude out of his helicopter and now he had someone screaming in his face for details he could not remember.

"I'll ask one last time, and this time I will speak slowly so you hopefully understand." Ebony spoke before Rude had a chance to answer. "Where is the contents of the package?"

Reno turned his eyes back towards the man, the teal orbs narrowing in the best glare the injured man could muster in his state. Rude could feel panic muscling its way into his stomach as he knew the next words that would come out of his partner's mouth would not be good. No sooner then the thought entered his head, did his partner prove his fear right.

"I'll answer one more time, and this time I will speak slowly so you hopefully understand." Reno hissed, voice low as he leaned towards Ebony. "I...do...not...know."

Rude muttered a curse as the dark look fell over Ebony's face. Reno, however, let his head fall backwards with an amused smirk on his lips. Ebony's hand tightened on the metal piece and he looked towards the other men, nodding slowly. Without another warning he yanked back hard, pulling the metal piece from Reno's thigh in one sharp movement. Blood spurted out over the snow as the red headed Turk's body went stiff, a howl of pain ripping from his body. Reno's body went tight with pain, before sagging in the grip that held him up. Rude realized, with some form of relief, that his partner had fallen unconscious again. He figured the mouthy man was safer in that state at the moment until he was able to recover better from the concussion.

Ebony turned away with a snarl, ordering a few men to grab the silver box before turning back towards Rude. His face was still dark, the fury seeming to leak from him. A snarl was twisting his features before he stalked towards the truck.

"Load them both up and take them to headquarters, it seems we'll have to do this the hard way." Ebony hissed, brushing past them and moving to one of the trucks himself.

Rude remained silent as he was loaded back into the truck, waiting until Reno was thrown in after him. The red head's leg was still bleeding, forming a small pool beneath his body. The bald man cursed at the sight and wormed his way closer to his partner, not wanting any distance between the two of them. It was like he was afraid that if he did not stay close enough, the man would simply cease to be. Reno twitched as Rude's thigh brushed against his back, unconsciously rolling over and slinging an arm over the bald man's lap and burying his face into him. Rude let a slow breath leave him, wishing he had his arms in front of him so that he could clean some of the blood off of Reno's face. For now he settled with letting his partner cling to him as though he were simply napping, a smirk finally tugging at his lips.

"Reno...you're an idiot..." He muttered before closing his eyes and leaning his head back, waiting to find out how much trouble they were actually in.

**-And there you have it. The next chapter will start to get into all that nitty gritty I know that everyone is waiting desperately for. Some lovely "make Reno wish he dead" stuff.**

**And for those that are wondering, I have spent a lot of time around people with concussions. My best friend in college played Rugby. And if it weren't considered a bad injury, concussions can be amusing. They truly do act just as I had Reno act in this chapter. Seemingly dazed, repeating the same thing over and over again, asking the same question over and over despite already getting an answer. And then the next morning they wake up with a headache and a bad case of the grumps, but seemingly no worse for the wear.**

**Anywho...sorry for the short chapter and all but they will start getting longer and with more substance after this one. So please review and let me know what you think!**

**~Safaia**


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